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Panesiglio Aversano - Lemon Currant Buns

Panesiglio Aversano - Lemon Currant Buns

This is my version of Carol Fields lovely currant buns from her book 'Italy in Small Bites'.

The buns are especially delicious because of the way the lemon zest is infused into the milk, lots of zest and I used my homemade candied lemon peel and fresh unsoaked currants.

In place of some sugar I used honey and also refrigerated the shaped buns for an overnight ferment for fresh baked warm morning buns.

I made some changes to adjust for the extra hydration because of the 3 eggs and yolk used in her recipe..but all in all they did turn out tender and delicious.

I plan on using the 'lemon buttermilk soak' in my favorite Hot Cross Bun recipe for Easter. It adds just the right touch of lemon flavor.

The buns are not overly sweet or tart...just delicious and tender!

Zest of 1/2 Organic Lemon, Pith removed

3/4 cup - 170g Buttermilk

Six hours before you plan to bake these little sweet breads, cut the lemon zest in half and score the surface. Place into the buttermilk, soak 6 hours, drain and reserve the milk. Finely chop the zest.

I used fresh fine grated zest from an organic lemon instead of chopping the soaked zest.

SPONGE

2 1/2 tsps. I used the Gold OIADY for higher sugar content dough

1 TBsp Honey

Reserved Buttermilk

100 g APBF

Stir in a KA mixer the buttermilk, yeast, honey, flour. Cover and rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

DOUGH

1/2 cup plus 1 TBsp Sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

About 3 cups minus 1 TBsp. (400 grams) APBF

3/4 tsp. sea salt

9 TBsp. unsalted butter, room temperature

1 3/4 cups currants - I used a little less

2 to 3 TBsp. APBF

1/4 cup Candied Lemon Peel

GLAZE

Egg yolk and milk or cream

Stir the sugar, eggs, egg yolk, and reserved lemon zest into the sponge. Mix in the flour and the salt and stir until smooth, using the paddle of the electric mixer. Beat in the butter, 2 TBsp at a time, and mix thoroughly until the dough is smooth and velvety. Change to the dough hook and knead for 4 minutes. The dough should be velvety, smooth, and soft.

First rise

Transfer the dough to a buttered bowl, cover well with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled. Thirty minutes before you plan to shape the dough you can soak your currants in tepid water.

Filling and overnight proof

Drain the currants well, pat them dry, and toss them with the 2 - 3 TBsp. flour. Flatten the dough on lightly floured work surface and spread the currants and candied lemon peel on the surface. Gently roll up tucking in the sides. Let it recuperate for about 5 minutes. The dough into 12 to 14 pieces and shpae each into a ball. Place into parchment lined buttered pans. Let rise until puffy and half doubled.

I covered with plastic bags and placed overnight into the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 400F.

When ready to bake. Brush with egg yolk and milk glaze. Bake about 18 to 22 minutes until well browned and golden.

Another Use for my B&T Proofer.. Dry setting - Speeded up making my candied lemon peels by 'One' day instead of 2 days!

I forgot to score my zest...but I give it a twist over the buttermilk.

I baked these the morning of my Birthday before leaving to celebrate with family. What a beautiful day!

You have a bumper crop...that's great, you can never have to many lemons around the house. With this mild climate I usually have lemons constantly on my everygreen lemon tree.

I have tried a few different recipes for making peel. This one is the simplest and gives nice results. I also used it for my last posted candied orange peels I posted at Christmas and dipped in chocolate and plain.

The recipe comes from'My Calabria' by Rosetta Costantino with Janet Fletcher. A nice 'Rustic Family Cooking from Italy's Undiscovered South. It's her most requested recipe for sugar-dusted, supple slices of orange peel are a homemade solution to the outrageously expensive (and not very tasty) candied orange peel....

5 large navel oranges with thick peel, unsprayed - Lemons in this batch!

4 cups (800 grams) sugar, plus more for coating

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

With a paring knife, cut and peel each lemon into strips roughly the shape of a marquise diamond, about 1 inch wide at the widest part and pointed at the tips, slicing from stem end to blossom end and cutting all the way through the peel-the colored zest and white pith-but not the juicy flesh. Remove each strip as cut; it will release easily from the flesh.

added: I cut my peels for boiling the size I want at finish.

Place in 4-quart stainless saucepan and add 2 quarts cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and repeat two more times. After the third blanching, drain the peels and return them to the pot. Cover with cold water and let stand until cool, then drain again.

With a paring knife, slice about half of the softened white pith off the peel, leaving a cushion of about 1/8 inch.. I leave a little more pith on mine, because I like the texture and the health benefits and find the flavor is not jepordized..If you remove all the pith, the peel will be too thin and floppy. When you have pared all the strips, return them to the pot, and repeat the 2-minute boiling two more times, for a total of five times.

Put the sugar in the 4-quart stainless steel saucepan. Add the lemon juice and 2 cups (500 ml) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occassionally until the sugar dissolves, then reduce the heat to maintain a steady but not vigorous boil and cook for 15 minutes to thicken syrup. Add the drained peels. Cook at a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peels look glassy and translucent, about one hour. To test, remove one strip and let it cool slightly. You should almost be able to see through it.

Remove the peels from the heat and let them cool in the syrup over-night...don't do any stiring at this point..I find it breaks the gelling, thickening..The peels will plump in the syrup, and the syrup will thicken considerably. The next morning, set a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Transfer each strip to the rack by hand, letting excess syrup drip back into the sauce-pan. Use your fingers to scrape excess syrup from the peels; they should not be dripping. Let them dry on the rack until they are no longer tacky, about 24 hours.

Make a bed of sugar in a flat dish and press each strip in the sugar until evenly coated on both sides, patting the sugar into place. Return the strips to the rack and leet stand at room temperature overnight to dry further...To dry at this point I put the peel's on a rack lined sheet that fits into my proofer...set the proofer for..I believe it was 117F..dry heat until the peels where supple dry and no longer sticky...the proofer speeds drying things up significantly.

To store, layer the peels in a plastic container with parchment paper between each layer so they don't stick together. I haven't had any problem with mine sticking together and just place them in an airtight plastic container or bag. They will last in the freezer indefinitely.

As a child my best friends mom used to make candied citrus peel for us to have as a treat..I guess that's why I love eating these until my tongue get's raw..but I didn't have any colds or flu this flu season..and my husband brough home quite a virus going around work..I have never seen him that ill with a virus..I didn't catch it..hummm was it all that nutrition they say the pith contains I read about years ago in my health books!

use limonchello in conjunction with the syrup - which is what I would and will do. Even if you don't drink, the alcohol evaporates at 175F so anything baked with liquor, like cake, the alcohol will disappear - but the flavor remains. I also use limonchello in place of coffee flavored liquor in tiramisu - very nice.

Limonchello and Aranchello are by far the most popular requested gifts around here and they are great for gift giving - in fancy doo, pretty bottles with nice labels.

Oh Sylvia, these lemon-currant buns are just amazing. Fresh lemons, your candied peel and homemade lemon curd to go with; I'm having a hard time imagining anything much better! :^)

If you like to make sorbet, here is a link to a recipe that also combines buttermilk and lemon.(I make it a little differently, and put the sugar in a food processor, zest the lemon over, then grind it all together before mixing with the buttermilk and lemon juice – infuses the lemon flavor really well!):http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Buttermilk-Sorbet-105187

It is so nice to see your beautiful feature of another of Ms. Field’s lovely recipes.:^) breadsong

For the compliment and the recipe. I once saw a recipe for buttermilk ice cream that sounded delicious. I had to quit making homemade ice cream..we just love it..especially Mike. The sorbet sounds perfect and so delicious..thanks so much for the recipe!

I'm creating a pool of drool as I speak at the mo, though I just had a breakfast! :p Really yummy-looking buns, Sylvia. Thank you for sharing. Great idea using the proofer to dry lemon peels. Are those lemons from your garden?

Hi and thank you, Varda! I posted the recipe back before TFL upgraded so it's no longer there with my older blog posts. quantan has it posted on her blog. It's a great recipe and I orginially got it from the 'All Recipes' site. It's called Microwaved Lemon Curd. It is so simple to make and delicious and also makes a lovely lime curd.

Oh Sylvia, these look so very tender and tasty, I can just imagine how good they must have been. Taking the time to infuse a natural flavour such as lemon and incorporate it in a mix is just one of the many reasons I enjoy your approach to baking. No half measures for you, it's all about flavour. Lovely and delicious looking, along with a great writeup, it's a delightful post Sylvia. Wishing you a very Happy (belated) Birthday!

I appreciate your comments very much. I thought they might have a lemon tangish finish to them..but instead a delightfully different level of sweetness came about pleasantly. No wonder these were enjoyed by the aristocratic Neapolitans for a midafternoon merenda. Thank you the BD wish and for noticing : ) I know you read my blog...the whole thing :))

I got a little chuckle out of it all..something we all do, 'miss parts of a blog' it's not hard to do..I do it all the time! I added this because a lot of times I'm in a rush and have to redo things 'lol'.

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